Overview

“Kew Gardens” is a​n unconventional ​short story by English author Virginia Woolf​, first published in 1919​. The story does not follow a particular character’s journey through a conventional plotline. Instead, the reader is introduced to multiple sets of characters, each within an independent plot that must be inferred, based on sparse details and glimpses of conversation. All the events mentioned in the story unfold in a garden, and the conflicts of the characters emerge only through their actions and dialogue, as viewed through the lens of an objective narrator. The lack of a central plot and the focus on glimpses of events around the lives of unrelated characters makes “Kew Gardens” a slice-of-life drama reflecting an experimental, modernist approach.

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